Chapter 2 · From Grain to Pasta

The Mill

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From grain to flour

Wheat grains are too hard to eat as they are. That is why we take them to the mill. There the grains are milled — crushed and rubbed until they turn into a fine powder: flour. The flour is then sifted through screens to make it smooth. Without the mill we would have neither bread nor pasta.

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Old mills and modern mills

Long ago, people ground wheat at water mills or windmills that turned two large millstones. In Romanian villages and mountains you can still find such old mills. Today there are also huge industrial mills with metal rollers that grind tonnes of wheat per hour.

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Wholemeal vs. white flour

When we grind the whole grain on stone, we keep all three parts: the bran, the endosperm and the germ. This gives wholemeal flour — darker, with more fibre, vitamins and flavour. The industrial mill sifts out the bran and germ and keeps only the endosperm: fine white flour.

📌 Bobiță's discoveries

✦The mill grinds the grain into flour.
✦Old mills use stones; industrial mills use rollers.
✦Wholemeal flour keeps the bran and germ.
✦White flour removes them and lasts longer.

🔬 Science at the microscope

The Slow Food snail says

Local stone mills keep the flavour, the nutrients and an old craft — and they support people in the community.

On to the next stop